


Sweet Neurotoxin

by Dynamosuchus



Category: Miraculous Ladybug, Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Akumatized Main Character(s), Angst, F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Portal AU, Time Travel, Verbal Abuse, but like. not excessively, does this count as a slow burn, eventual adrinette, lots of both honestly, no beta we die like men, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-09-27 23:24:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20416039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dynamosuchus/pseuds/Dynamosuchus
Summary: As part of a new testing initiative, Marinette and Adrien are stolen from their home dimension and wake up, without their miraculous, in a strange laboratory. Determined to find a way home, they make their way through the facility, solving test chambers guided by a mysterious voice. Is it the work of Hawkmoth, or something more sinister?





	1. Where are we?

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic uploaded to AO3! It's been a while since I've written anything, so please forgive any mistakes.  
This will contain spoilers for both the Portal series and up to the first half of season 3 of Miraculous Ladybug. I will be as compliant with both canons as possible.  
The story will switch between POVs, depending on the chapter.

A door slammed somewhere.

It was dark, and comfortably warm. Marinette, unwilling to open her eyes just yet, groaned and snuggled closer to her pillow, which was soft and smooth and smelled of… cheese?

Her eyes snapped open. Rather than her stuffed kitty, she seemed to be cuddling a human boy. A blond mop of hair splayed out on a thin, bland-looking pillow as the boy turned, stealing more of the covers for himself. It was her friend, Adrien, snoring softly, still deep in sleep. An inhuman squeak escaped her mouth as she nearly flew off the bed, which she only now realized was not her own.

At the noise, Adrien woke with a start. He sat straight up in the bed, rubbing at his eyes and grumbling complaints. “Keep it down,” he mumbled. “It’s too early for breakfast, Pla--”

His words died in his throat as he realized he wasn’t alone. He looked wildly around at Marinette, who backed up and nearly knocked a strange painting off the wall that wasn’t hers. “Marinette?” he asked, concerned. “What are you doing in my…” Slowly, he appeared to realize the same thing she had. “Where are we?”

It took a moment for Marinette to find her voice. Still mortified at the position she found herself in, she refused to meet his eyes. “I…I don’t…” she began, but fell silent again as she looked around the room. It was grimy and cracked, and a slight vibration under her feet made her very uneasy. A dirty fridge sat behind the bed, the door hanging at an angle. A microwave that no longer even had a door. A moldy dresser underneath a shattered TV screen. A rusted railing ran along the ceiling. A strange, ashy smell permeated the walls.

There was a rustle of sheets, a thump on the floor, and Adrien came to stand next to her, taking in their predicament. Both were in their school clothes, and Marinette had no memory of falling asleep, which bothered her somehow, though she couldn’t pinpoint it exactly.

Not until Adrien yelped, startling her badly.

“My ring is gone!”

Instinctively, Marinette’s hands flew to her ears. Her earrings were gone. Tikki was gone. Her heart seized in panic, and she put out a hand to steady herself. Adrien grabbed it and held tight, breathing hard himself, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about holding Adrien’s hand. Had Hawkmoth won? Why was Adrien here? Where was Chat Noir? Why couldn’t she remember? Why…?

“Hey,” her friend soothed, seeing her getting worked up. “Are you okay?”

She nodded numbly and gripped his hand tighter, feeling a stab of guilt at his wince.

“We’re going to be fine,” he said, though he didn’t look like he believed it. “I’m sure it’s just an akuma, and any minute now Ladybug will burst through that door and rescue us.” He nodded towards a brown door down a short hallway.

Marinette’s heart caught in her throat, but before she could open her mouth to refute that, a harsh knocking came from the door, making them both jump.

“Hello? Are you two awake in there?”

The voice was oddly robotic, but not unkind. The knocking came again, a bit louder this time.

“Y-yes!” Marinette spoke up first, sharing a shocked glance with Adrien. “We’re here!”

“Good. Have you gotten dressed?”

Marinette frowned. Dressed? Only now did she notice a closet next to the bed. Adrien let go of her hand and tentatively opened the closet door, revealing a pair of orange jumpsuits, white shirts, and several pairs of strangely tall white boots.

“Have you gotten dressed?” The voice repeated, in exactly the same tone.

Adrien shrugged at Marinette and grabbed a jumpsuit, pulling it on over his normal clothes with more ease than Marinette was comfortable with. Her face burned as she looked away, grabbing a jumpsuit for herself and tugging it on. She turned her attention to the boots, barely noticing the voice repeating itself for the third time.

“Yes, we have.” Adrien answered for them this time. “Why do we need to get dressed? What’s going on—”

“Good,” the voice interrupted him. “The two of you may begin testing now. Please open the door and follow me to your first test.”

_Testing?_ Adrien mouthed at Marinette, who sighed and shrugged. She didn’t like this idea, at all, but they couldn’t do much more in this room. They had a better chance of figuring this whole mess out and getting home once they were out there, wherever “there” was. She stepped forward to open the door, and was surprised to see a spherical robot hanging from the ceiling. A curiously bright orange eye staring at her, unblinking. It was hardly the first time she had seen a robot, but it was still unnerving. She barely had time to wonder how it had knocked on their door without arms or hands when it looked 'round and sped away, following a rail through a maze of dusty gray hallways.

"Hey, wait-!" She had to sprint to keep up, Adrien following close behind her.

Neither of them talked as they ran. The boots weren't uncomfortable, but the added spring was hard to control, and Marinette was gripped with the feeling that if she jumped a bit too hard, she would go flying into space, like bounding over rooftops without the aid of her suit. It was oddly familiar, running together like this with him, but she buried that thought deep in the back of her mind. She had to figure out where they were so she could get them out of here and contact Chat Noir. She concentrated, trying to remember the last time she had seen home, but couldn’t conjure more than a flash of blue light and the suffocating feeling of being forced, molecule by molecule, through a cheesecloth. The sudden recollection made her stumble, and she gasped as if she couldn’t breathe.

“Marinette!”

Strong hands gripped her shoulders and held her upright. On the edge of her vision, she glimpsed a worried face peering over her as they stumbled to a stop.

Thankfully, the robot stopped too. They had reached a room, wider than the hallways, with a round, blinking door on the far end. A jumble of giant glass tubes ran overhead, whooshing as bits and pieces of…something traveled within them, soaring to places unknown. A mounted camera was pointed at them, blinking furiously.

They hardly had time to marvel before the robot spoke once more. “Your first test begins now. You will receive more information inside. Good luck,” it finished, and sped back the way they came. A door Marinette had not yet noticed closed behind it, sealing their escape.

They waited with bated breath, but nothing happened. Adrien let go of her shoulders, and slowly approached the door, with her following close behind. It slid open smoothly, and the two of them stepped into a vast, harshly white room. The door closed behind them, but she hardly noticed, gaping at their new surroundings.

_“Welcome, new test subjects, to Aperture Science Laboratories."_


	2. We're here together

_"Welcome, new test subjects, to Aperture Science Laboratories."_

A seductively smooth, yet strangely robotic voice spoke to them. It sounded like a woman, but Adrien had a gut feeling that if they ever found the source, it would not be wholly human.

The room they had just entered seemed to be made of the white ceiling panels he'd seen in his school, only much larger and covering every square inch of the visible area. It was mostly bare, except for an enticingly large red button, another wall-camera, and a pile of gray cubes, each one half as tall as he was.  
He took a cautious step towards the button, feeling his good friend Marinette peering over his shoulder, but paused as the voice resumed.

_"Before we begin, allow us to congratulate the both of you on pioneering a new era of human-based testing. The technology required to traverse the multiverse has been finalized, and now new candidates may be randomly selected from alternate dimensions, widening our pool of talent and innovation._

_You have been selected to represent your dimension in a series of tests and research-based activities. At the conclusion of the tests, your results will be compiled with previous subjects to determine the utility of your dimension._

_After the conclusion of each test, please proceed through the Aperture Science Material Emancipation Grill to the elevator. The Emancipation Grill will emancipate any unauthorized items that pass through it, so as to provide a safe and fair testing environment._

_You may begin testing when you both are ready."_

It was a lot of information to take in at once. Adrien's head ached as he tried to make sense of it. He'd had enough experience with magic to know some things weren't explainable in any reasonable way, but it wasn't every day you woke up in a strange room with robots from a different dimension. He rubbed at the finger where his ring used to be, already missing his small kwami.

That was another thing. Where had his miraculous gone? This didn't seem like a Hawkmoth situation, but it was rather suspicious regardless. He couldn't remember falling asleep, much less in the same bed as Marinette. He wanted to get in touch with Ladybug, to call for help, but there wasn't much he could do like this.

"E-excuse me," a voice piped up behind him.  
He turned to Marinette, but she was looking at the camera on the wall.

"Can you see us here? We need to get home. We can't stay here and test for you." Her voice wavered, but she still spoke earnestly.

_"Please save all questions until after the tests have been completed."_

"No! We can't, that's the problem! We need to get home, our friends are going to worry--"

The voice interrupted her, repeating itself, not a single change in tone. Adrien was starting to get very tired of these robots.

Marinette fell silent, her hand clenched into a fist. She looked angry, but also...

Afraid. They were both afraid. This was weird, this was new, and they both wanted nothing more than to get back home and sleep it off like a bad dream.

Adrien put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but she remained stiff and defiant. "I think we'd better do it her way for now," he said. "After we're done, we can figure it out together, okay?"

Finally, Marinette seemed to relax. She melted into his touch, smiling softly. "Yeah, you're right," she agreed, and seemed a bit surprised at the lack of her usual stammer. She took a deep breath and set her jaw, looking around the room. "What do you think we're supposed to do here?"

Again, Adrien's eyes lingered on the button. Movies had taught him never to mess with a button that large and that _red_, yet tradition dictated that he must push it anyway. He knew what Plagg would want him to do, anyway, a soft smile tugging at his lips as he thought of his little menace. It was settled, then.

He approached the button cautiously, but it didn't move or speak. Not that he honestly expected it to, but a lot of strange things were happening that day. Glancing up at Marinette, who was inspecting the cubes and murmuring to herself, Adrien reached out and gently pressed the button.

Both of them jumped as another circular door whooshed open, revealing a shimmering blue light and, faintly, a set of stairs. As Adrien leapt backward, the pressure on the button was released, and the door snapped closed again.

In shock, the two of them stared at each other, then the button. Adrien grinned toothily. "I think I've found the answer to this one," he said, and pushed down on the button again. Reliably, the door opened.

"Good work!" Marinette's eyes shone as she tapped at her chin. "But you can't get through if you're stuck pushing the button..." She trailed off, considering the pile of cubes at her side. She grabbed a cube off the stack. It looked like it might weigh as much as she did, but she held it aloft without much effort. She hoisted it on to the button, and when Adrien tentatively released the button again, the door stayed open. "Yes!"

They laughed, and Marinette held out her fist. Adrien bumped it instinctively. "Pound it!"

Marinette stopped laughing. She seemed surprised, a blush spreading over her face as she looked away. Adrien wasn't sure what he did wrong, but he wanted to apologize. Before he got the chance, though, the mysterious voice spoke up again.

_"Fantastic! Please proceed to the next test. The Enrichment Center reminds you not to remove any equipment from the testing chamber."_

Adrien and Marinette gave each other sideways glances. Each of them grabbed a cube off the stack, not bothering to hide their small rebellion from the camera, which had swiveled to follow their movements. The voice didn't try to stop them; rather, it continued speaking as they approached the door.

_"Cube-and-button-based testing has been a cornerstone of our research for years. We--"_

Whatever was said next was drowned out by a shriek from Marinette, who had entered the blue light first. Her cube turned black and fizzled away, uncomfortably like Chat Noir's own Cataclysm.

Adrien dropped his cube and grabbed Marinette's hands, turning them over, but they were undamaged. "Are you okay?" He asked for the second time that day, his heartbeat slowly returning to normal.

"Y-yeah," she said, tugging her hands away. "I was just startled." She looked over her hands, a bit pale in the face. "I don't think they were kidding about not taking stuff with us."

Adrien couldn't help himself; he giggled. Marinette's blush darkened and she pulled him through the Emancipation Grill with her. Still smiling, he walked with his friend, down the stairs to the elevator. They may be trapped for now, but at least they were trapped together.

They could figure this mess out together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First test done! It can only get better from here, right?


	3. Like an open door

The elevator rattled ominously as it descended to unknown depths. The padded walls were dusty and smelled of mildew. There was barely enough room for the two of them, but Marinette didn’t mind as much as she thought she would.

A particularly harsh bump from under their feet jostled them together, and she murmured an apology as they righted themselves. Adrien looked like he wanted to reassure her, but then the elevator doors finally opened, showing them their next challenge.

A low, dark hallway, leading to another room with the white panels, and a pair of pedestals holding strange devices.

The voice spoke again as they tentatively stepped into the room together.

_“In the past, test subjects were slowly introduced to the mechanics and physics of portals before they were permitted to use the Portal Device. However, for reasons pertaining to official Aperture Laboratories business, we have decided to accelerate your education. Please each take a Dual Portal Device from the stand.”_

Marinette didn’t want to touch it. “It looks like a gun,” she said, eyeing the device on the pedestal closest to her.

“A_ portal_ gun,” Adrien insisted, sounding more excited than Marinette thought to be necessary. Hardly hesitating, he grabbed his and rested it against his hip. “I think it looks pretty cool.”

“We don’t even know how it works,” Marinette said, but her will was starting to falter. It did look pretty cool on him. Forcing her eyes away as she blushed, she lifted her device gently and looked it over. It was heavier than it looked, and there was a hole in the back just large enough to admit her hand. Reaching inside, she found a grip that fit her right hand comfortably, with grooved buttons under her first and ring fingers, and another under her thumb. She squeezed her trigger finger automatically. With a burst of light, a shimmering red portal opened on the wall opposite her.

Adrien’s eyes lit up as he looked from her to her portal on the wall. Mimicking her actions, he shot a portal from his own gun above hers. His was a rich blue, with the same otherworldly quality. Part of the portal gun in his hands lit up in the same blue, strong enough to cast blue light against his arms.

Marinette looked down and noted a similar red light on hers. “Are they connected now?” She wondered out loud, but the robotic voice remained silent. She reached out experimentally, but her hand didn’t disappear into the portal as she had expected. Rather, she felt the cracked wall behind it. The red light didn’t move around her fingers, or give off any heat. It was like it wasn’t there. Not for the first time, Marinette briefly wondered if this whole mess was a dream.

Placing her hand back into the portal gun, Marinette noted the button under her middle finger. Pointing the device at the wall next to her first portal, she pressed it.

Light burst again from the end of her portal gun, and an orange portal materialized next to red. No longer shimmering, she now could see inside, as if it were a mirror to their room. She leaned over to get a better look and yelped when she saw herself, leaning with her face just out of sight.

A sky-blue portal appeared over her orange one. She looked around to see Adrien holding his portal gun high, and before she could stop him, he bolted across the room, jumping recklessly into her red portal and skidding out of the orange one, stumbling over his own momentum.

Despite her worry, Marinette snickered at the sight. Adrien grinned at her, looking relieved as the tension drained from her shoulders. “It’s like an open door,” he said. “I couldn’t feel any barriers. You just…go through.”

“Don’t just jump into things you don’t understand,” Marinette admonished, but she was still smiling.

_“You appear to have figured out the most important properties of the device. In the next chamber, you will put that knowledge to the test. Good luck!”_

A rounded door opened automatically, leading to another room. Feeling a bit more confident with a new tool to help her, Marinette gripped her portal gun close as she led the way into the room.

The chamber was split in half by a deep chasm. Brown, stone panels lined the ceiling. The ground was white, as were some of the walls. Unlike the last test, Marinette couldn’t see the exit door, or any cubes. A short hallway sat on the other end, leading to a glimpse of another chasm.

Getting on her knees, Marinette peered over the edge of the ledge. The ground was far enough away that they’d be incredibly lucky to walk away with only broken bones if they fell off, and that wasn’t a risk Marinette wanted to take. She pointed her portal gun at one of the white walls opposite her, and fired. Turning as she stood, she fired again at the wall behind them and sighed with something like relief as the portal opened without a hitch.

“That’s handy,” Adrien said, as he waited for Marinette to enter the portal first. “I hope all the tests are this easy.”

“Me too,” she said, a prickle of uneasiness nipping at the back of her mind. What was the point of these tests, if they were so simple? “We’re not done yet, though.”

The hallway led to a room like the one just behind them, only larger and with a deeper gap in the middle. This time, brown panels covered all the walls; the only white was at the bottom of the chasm, and a curiously lonely white panel on the wall, a long way above their heads. The exit sat on the opposite ledge next to a red button, and a cube sat just out of reach to their right, separated by a gap. Marinette was so engrossed in looking around that she almost walked right off the edge; Adrien grabbed hold of the back of her jacket and pulled her back to him.

Propping up his portal gun with his other hand, Adrien pointed at the brown, stone wall opposite them and fired. A burst of light shot from the end.

No portal appeared.

Panic rose like bile in the back of Marinette’s throat as she watched him try again and again, grumbling his frustration as the portal refused to appear. Raising her own gun, she shot at the same wall, suppressing a squeak as hers, too, failed. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. He gave up then, firing randomly at the ground.

Soft blue light drew both of their gazes as a portal popped into existence on the white tiles.

Understanding dawned in Marinette’s mind, and trading a glance with Adrien confirmed that he had realized the same thing. Still, she said it aloud.

“They only work on the white panels.” It was somewhat disappointing, as cool as the portal guns were. Like opening a new toy and realizing it needed batteries you didn’t have stocked.

“I jinxed it,” Adrien muttered, looking back at the previous room. “My bad luck.”

“What? No,” Marinette said absentmindedly, already trying to work out this new puzzle. “It’s just a new rule we have to follow. We’ll figure this out.”

Adrien didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t say anything more.

Marinette looked back at the white panel above them. Thinking back to Adrien jumping out of her previous portal, she had a sneaking suspicion she knew why that one, out of all the panels, was portal-able, but for once she hoped she wasn’t right. Besides, it didn’t explain how they were going to get the cube to the button, but they had to take this one thing at a time. She looked out over the edge at the ground. It was so far below them that it made her dizzy, but she still stepped closer.

“Marinette?” Adrien’s voice was tainted with concern, but she ignored it as she finally fired a portal below them, watching it light up red, then put an orange one above their heads, briefly noting the prompt disappearance of her previous portals in the other room.

“I think we have to jump.”

“What?”

“I think we’re supposed to jump through our portals to reach the other side.”

“I heard that part. Marinette, that’s too dangerous. We could get hurt.”

“Only if we miss.” She had meant for that to be funny, to lighten her own fear at having to jump, but it fell flat even in her ears.

Adrien didn’t look amused. “There’s gotta be another way to solve this,” he said, a bit loudly.

“There’s not.” Marinette wasn’t even sure of that, but she faked some confidence, hoping it would bleed into the real thing. “Trust me, okay?” She didn’t wait for an answer.

Trying not to think too hard about what she was doing, Marinette turned and stepped off the edge of their small cliff, but in her hurry one foot clipped the other and she fell.

“Marinette, no--!” Adrien’s face was white as a sheet as he lunged for her hand, but he missed, fingers barely grazing her skin. Leaning over the edge, he panicked, clutching at his wrist and mumbling incoherently, seemingly grabbing at something that wasn’t there.

Marinette squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the pain of an impact, but strangely, it didn’t come. She allowed herself to open one eye just as her body righted itself mid-fall and her boots touched the ground, the spring hooked to the back vibrating gently with the force of her jump as she missed landing in the portal by mere feet. Miraculously, she seemed unhurt, and the stress of what just happened finally caught up to her. She choked back a sob.

“Marinette!”

A yell from above made her look up. Adrien was wiping at his eyes, frantically looking over her.

She waved at him, and stepped through the portal next to her feet. Immediately, she fell through, the world briefly spinning as she landed behind her friend and wrapped him up in a hug.

“You’re okay,” he said, his voice breaking. He wouldn’t look at her. “Don’t do that again! Please. You’re not a superhero, and I don’t…I don’t want…”

She didn’t answer right away, just held tight. “Neither are you,” she said, finally. “But I’m fine, now. I think these weird boots are meant for long falls. They’re like m—“ She faltered, slightly. “They’re like Ladybug and Chat Noir’s suits. They let us do crazy jumps like that.”

When Adrien didn’t respond, Marinette untangled her arms from him. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I should’ve explained myself better before just… jumping. I don’t think we’re in real danger here, though.”

Adrien sighed, and when he finally looked at her, he was smiling, though his eyes were still wet. “I think you’re right,” he said. “Let me go first this time, though.”

Marinette begrudgingly agreed, and though she knew his boots would protect him just fine, her heart still caught in her chest as he walked to the edge, looking down. Lining himself up with her portal, he leaped -- Marinette’s heart leaped with him – and _flew _out of the other portal above her head, landing neatly next to the exit.

His hair was uncharacteristically mussed as he grinned at her from the other side, his panic seemingly forgotten. “That was great! You should try it.”

Marinette laughed as she wiped cold sweat from the back of her neck. He was fine, she was fine, they were both going to be fine. She watched as Adrien pushed at the button, nodding to himself as the exit door opened, reminding her that they still had to get the cube if they wanted to leave. There were no white panels on the wall behind it, though.

“Hey,” she called out, and Adrien looked her way. She pointed at the floor of the chasm, close to where the cube sat above. “Could you please put a portal there?”

He obliged, and Marinette could almost see him thinking as he realized what she was doing. He put the other portal below her without needing prompting, and Marinette gripped her portal gun tightly as she jumped into it.

The rush of falling through the air without the protection of her suit once again tore at her insides, but then blue light flashed by, and she wasn’t falling anymore.

A whoop escaped her lips as she rose like a gull on an updraft, carried by her momentum into the air. Her ascent slowed just as she reached the cube, reaching out to grab it, but unable to take it with only one hand free. She fell again, through the portals like a see-saw. She was grateful that she didn’t seem to lose momentum between falls; It gave her time to think about what to do next.

Fidgeting with the buttons inside her portal gun, she remembered the one placed just under her thumb. She hadn’t used it yet, but maybe it could help her out here.

The next time Marinette reached the cube, she pointed her device and pressed the button. Electricity crackled as the cube snapped to the end like a magnet. A faint buzzing filled her ears, but it was drowned out by a cheer from her friend, watching her from the ledge.

Pushing herself away from the wall as she fell, she landed on the floor and went through the motions of getting back to where they started, then finally landed next to Adrien, who was sitting cross-legged on the button and watching her with a gleam in his eyes.

“Move, please,” she laughed, and Adrien obliged, getting to his feet and out of the way with a catlike grace.

“That was cool, Marinette,” he said warmly, as she pressed the button again to release the cube. “You’re really good at this.”

His praise made her heart nearly burst with pride, and she hardly heard the voice congratulating them as she left the cube on the button and walked with Adrien to the next test, feeling the most hopeful she’d ever been since she woke up in that bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're mostly just learning the rules of this world right now.  
Also, I make the test chambers they're using, with Portal 2's workshop! At some point (sooner rather than later if there's interest), I'll publish them so that anyone with Portal 2 (and an internet connection) can solve them too!


	4. We should take a break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've published the test chambers on the Portal 2 Workshop for each one we've solved so far! The first one is called SN_C001, the second SN_C002, and so on.  
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1863484527  
This is the first chamber. The rest of the chambers can be found through my profile if not through the actual workshop. Starting next chapter, I'll be posting the individual links. Please let me know if the link doesn't work!   
Also, at least for now, while these kids ARE solving them together, they are published and can be completed as single-player chambers, so anyone can play them regardless.

Adrien’s mind wandered as they waited for the elevator doors to open. The initial stress of waking up in a new place had all but disappeared, and now his heart hurt for a different reason. Marinette may be with him, but they were both alone here, at the mercy of strange robots in a strange facility, where the air seemed slow and cold and sterile. He already missed the wind and the rain, the warmth and sunlight of Paris.

He thought of Paris. He thought of his friends, of his father, of Ladybug. He thought of his ring, of Plagg, of cheese.

His stomach growled.

They hadn’t eaten since they got here. Adrien’s diet was strictly controlled, so he was used to feeling hungry now and again, but he’d never been hungry enough to even consider eating his Kwami’s disgustingly smelly camembert. Now, though, the thought sent sharp, desperate pain through his stomach.

There was no way to tell the passage of time here. No way to know what was happening outside of this dreary building.

His stomach growled again.

Finally, the doors opened, and they could step through into their next test, Marinette leading the way, taking long strides with the air of someone ready to get this over with. Adrien couldn’t blame her; She was probably just as hungry as he was.

One thing at a time, though. They had a test to solve.

This time, the chamber was rectangular. The walls were brown. Most of the floor and ceiling were white. The exit door was open, but there seemed to be no way to reach it. A blue Emancipation Grill cut the room in half. On their side of the room, a cube and a button sat on separate, raised platforms. On the other side, another button sat on the floor, and on a third platform, a grey sphere perched precariously.

The voice greeted them, per usual, and wished them luck.

Adrien stood beside Marinette, puzzling over their task. It seemed simple enough, and the blue dots crossing the wall from one button to the floor beneath the exit was fairly self-explanatory. The other button seemed to connect to a stray platform across from the first button’s platform.

Now they just had to get the cube. The sphere was a mystery, but it could wait.

Marinette hmm’ed for a moment, looking between the ceiling and the floor. “There’s a dropper on the tile above the cube,” she pointed out, “but I think we can still jump on the platform from above, if we go at an angle.”

Adrien only nodded. The jump scare from the last test scratched at the back of his mind, but he really couldn’t see a better alternative. Besides, Marinette was right. As unpleasant as it was here, they didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger.

Marinette shot a portal at the ceiling, then the floor. Hardly hesitating, she jumped through and landed just at the edge of the platform. She grabbed the cube with her portal gun, and jumped back down.

“We need to get to that button,” Marinette said, setting the cube down gently, “but the ceiling over it is brown.”

“What about that platform?”

“Let’s try it. Maybe we can throw the cube across.”

Smiling at the thought, Adrien shot his own portal above the platform in question, then grabbed the cube and jumped through. The spring on his boots wobbled and clacked against the glass, but thankfully, he never lost his balance. It was still a strange feeling, like he might bounce away if he stepped too hard.

Another whine from his stomach pushed his mind back on track. He hefted his portal gun with the cube still attached, ready to throw, but the sight of the button stopped him cold.

“Marinette?” He started, his mouth suddenly dry. “We’ve got a problem.”

“What?”

The clink of metal against glass from behind told him Marinette had joined him on the platform, and he heard a soft “Oh,” as she saw what he was seeing.

The button was bowl-shaped, just slightly too small for the cube in Adrien’s possession. Even if he could throw the cube across, it wouldn’t do any good. Adrien suddenly thought he might know what the sphere was for.

Unfortunately, the sphere was on the other side of that blue field..

Marinette looked at the sphere, too, confirming that she’d had the same idea. The two of them jumped down together to inspect the Emancipation Grill. Adrien got a little too close, and his cube fizzled away into nothingness. He groaned as Marinette giggled. The dropper above them whirred and opened to drop another cube on the platform.

Adrien’s eyes wandered as Marinette went back to get a new cube. He looked about the room, once again noting the normal button on the floor, the glass floor beneath the exit, the stray platform attached to a rail, the annoyingly bowl-shaped button on the ledge jutting out from the wall.

Something about that ledge drew his gaze again. All of the panels in this room seemed cracked and dirty, but something about the square right below that ledge seemed a bit dirtier and a bit more cracked than usual. In fact, the longer he stared at it, the more he noticed how crooked that panel actually was, how weak, orange light seemed to peek out from the harsher gaps in the stone.

Light! There was something behind there!

He almost cried out in joy, but a quick, instinctive jolt of fear kept him mercifully quiet. The owner of that robotic voice could see them, presumably through the cameras mounted on the walls, and Adrien had the shadow of a feeling that whoever was overseeing them wouldn’t be pleased if they tried to escape their test chamber prematurely. He looked up at what he assumed was this room’s only camera, furiously blinking red as if it could read his mischievous thoughts.

“Adrien?”

He hummed and turned his head ever so slightly, his eyes never leaving the camera.

“What are you looking at?”

Adrien brought a finger to his lips, and Marinette fell silent, but he could still feel her sharp gaze on the back of his head. Without speaking, he fired a portal on the ceiling above the camera, and another at his feet. He knelt, getting on his stomach, and leaned into the portal, reaching out for the camera. It was just inches from his fingers, and he was tempted to knock it free with his portal gun when he felt himself start to slip.

A yelp escaped his lips. He felt strong hands grip his ankles and hold him still. His near-fall allowed him to inch forward enough to grab hold of the camera, and…

A deep breath…

His chest heaved with nerves and exhilaration…

He ripped it free from the wall. A few screws clattered to the floor somewhere across the room, but he didn’t let go.

_“Do not destroy vital testing apparatus!”_ The voice scolded somewhere above them, but didn’t say anything more.

Marinette pulled him back through the portal, and he sat on his knees, clutching the camera close and breathing hard. She knelt down next to him, examining the camera in his hands.

“Why’d you do that?” She sounded more concerned than annoyed.

Adrien turned it over in his hands, but it was completely dead. No angry red light taunted him now. “She can’t see us anymore,” he finally said. “Not for this test.”

“I know that.” A hint of something he didn’t quite recognize crept into her voice. “But_ why_?”

Adrien looked around, as if She might still be listening, but there really were no more cameras. A grin split his face with newfound excitement. “I found something cool,” he said. “And I don’t think she’d want us to see it.” He stood, then, and tossed the camera into the Emancipation Grill, where is fizzled with a satisfying sizzle. He offered his newly free hand to Marinette, and she took it, looking like she was fighting to keep a grin off her face.

He tugged her over to the panel, and nudged at the stone. It moved easily, eliciting a gasp from them both as warm light flooded the area beneath the ledge. Adrien looked back at his friend, lighting up as he saw how her eyes shone at this new hope.

“Let’s see where this goes,” he offered, and she nodded. There was just enough room for one of them to squeeze through the crack at a time, and Adrien went first, standing just inside to help Marinette through. Together, they looked about their new surroundings.

They had found a small room, tucked away in the wall. Thick pipes ran above them, vibrating gently. Adrien’s heart fell as he realized there didn’t seem to be any other exits, but the feeling of disappointment didn’t last long. It was pleasantly warm in here, and there were enormous stacks of boxes, all sizes and stages of decay sitting against the walls. An old radio, seemingly long dead, lay in pieces on the floor. Discarded cans and huge, dusty jugs littered the ground in a circle around a pile of burnt computer parts.

As one, they approached the boxes and started opening the ones that seemed the newest. Some were empty, but most-

“Adrien, look!” A gasp from his right pulled Adrien’s attention away from his moldy box of scrap metal. “Food!”

He was at her side in an instant. Her box was filled to the brim with unopened cans. The one she held in her hands simply had “BEANS” printed on the side.

It was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

His stomach groaned in anticipation as he grabbed several cans out of the box. He didn’t know how he was going to open them, yet. Not for the first time that day, he wished desperately that he could still transform. He could use his claws to punch a hole in the top, or better yet, just Cataclysm the metal away. He looked over to see if Marinette had figured anything else out, but she was opening more boxes, muttering something about water under her breath.

No big deal. He could take care of this for them. He looked around again, his eyes landing on his discarded box of scrap metal, and an idea took hold in his head. He grabbed it and rummaged through, pulling out several sharp-looking hunks of metal, and a few flat sheets that they might use as plates. Using a bit more force than strictly necessary, he grabbed the most knife-like of the bunch and punched a hole in the top of his bean can.

The smell was heavenly. The beans were old, sure, but they still smelled like food, and that was enough for him. He dipped his finger in for a small taste – yep, they didn’t seem spoiled—and called Marinette over.

She looked proud, producing a huge jug of mostly clear water. “This should last us for now,” she said, setting the jug next to him where he sat on the floor. “Did you get the can open?”

Adrien handed her the can of beans with a wink. She took a whiff and almost swooned, a relieved smile ghosting her lips. She tried to hand it back to him, but he waved it away, presenting her with one of the sheets of metal.

“Go ahead and eat,” he said. “I’ll open another can.”

Marinette looked grateful, but she didn’t start eating. As Adrien opened up a new bean can, she folded the sheet metal into makeshift bowls, pouring out her beans into one and holding the other for Adrien as he poured out the second can. Adrien could see the hunger in her eyes, mirroring his own, but she wouldn’t eat until his bowl was full.

They ate with their fingers, wiping their hands on the cardboard as needed, trading the water jug as they drank their fill, talking aimlessly about things that didn’t really seem to matter. They each opened more cans as needed, and it felt like hours before Adrien finally leaned back against the wall, completely satisfied.

“I didn’t think I was_ that_ hungry,” Marinette murmured, taking stock of all the new cans scattered between them.

“Me neither,” Adrien admitted. “I wonder how long it’s been since we ate last.”

They fell back into silence.

“Do you remember anything from… before we woke up?”

The question made him frown. He stared, without really seeing, at the piles of unopened boxes before them, thinking hard. He could remember getting up from his own bed, getting ready for school, walking to the park at lunchtime with his friends. The memories were fuzzy, though, like he was seeing them through a fine cloth, and he told her so.

Marinette mimicked his expression, looking into the mouth of the water jug as she gently swirled the water around. “I remember the park,” she agreed. “I brought lunch for us from the bakery, but before we could eat it, something…” She hesitated.

Adrien remembered the lunch, too. He’d been looking forward to it. “Something happened,” he said, slowly. “Alya dragged Nino away to go see something on the other side of the park, and left us alone.”

Marinette seemed to blush at that, but she didn’t comment.

Adrien rubbed idly at the edge of his bowl, wincing as the metal bit into his skin. He felt like he was teetering on the edge of a memory, but the harder he pulled, the further it slipped away.

“There was a light,” Marinette said suddenly. “A blue light, and then this really weird…” She trailed off.

With a jolt, Adrien realized she was right. A blue light, a feeling like he couldn’t breathe. A shadow behind him, reaching out for his shoulder before his consciousness went dark. “Do you think Alya and Nino saw it too?”

Marinette didn’t answer him. She stared pointedly into her jug, her swirling picking up in intensity.

She didn’t look okay. “Marinette?”

A choked sob escaped her as she looked away, ceasing her swirling and hugging the jug close. A lump caught in Adrien’s throat as he saw the tears in her eyes. He scooted along the floor until they sat side by side, and put an arm around her shoulders.

Marinette leaned into his touch, though she still wouldn’t look up.

“Are you worried about them?” He asked gently, though he knew what the answer was. He was worried, too.

She nodded, almost imperceptibly. She took a shuddering breath, and Adrien squeezed her a little tighter. “We’re here,” she said, finally. “We’re here in this place and we’re trapped and I have no idea if they’re here too, if anyone else is trapped here with us. Maybe they’re hungry too, maybe they weren’t lucky enough to find food like we did, maybe they got hurt in the tests, maybe A-Alya is—” She was cut off by another sob. “I don’t know, and I can’t help them. I can’t help us, we can’t stay in this room forever, and I don’t know if we’ll be this lucky again. We could—we could _d-die _in here and no one would ever know, my parents wouldn’t even…” She couldn’t continue. She was shaking hard, trying and failing not to cry. Finally, she set the jug aside and wrapped Adrien up in a trembling hug.

Adrien’s heart broke, listening to her as he held her close. The same, terrible fear bubbled up in his stomach as he thought about his friends. He hoped they were safe, hoped they were still in that park where he’d left them. A darker, more cynical part of his mind wondered, if they were indeed safe, whether they’d notice he’d gone. Maybe they thought he just left, and finished their lunch together. Maybe they’d gone back to school and noticed their friends weren’t there to greet them. As much as he didn’t want Alya and Nino to be hurt, a small, shameful part of his heart wanted them to notice, to be worried about him and Marinette when they didn’t come back.

A sigh pulled him out of his thoughts. Marinette’s breathing evened out, but she didn’t pull away from the hug. Adrien was fine with that; He needed the hug as much as she seemed to. He rested his chin in her hair, feeling a slight pull of protectiveness. He had to get them both out of here, to keep them safe until he could find help.

He just didn’t know how. Not yet.

Finally, she let him go, rubbing at her eyes. He stretched a bit and stood, and together they cleaned the small mess they’d made in their space. Adrien gathered up empty cans and tossed them in a box. He hefted the box above his shoulders and carried it to the stack. He started to wedge it in between two rather suspiciously damp boxes when a splash of color on the wall caught his eye.

He left his own box on the floor as he pulled and pushed at the stack, moving other boxes out of the way. Marinette came to stand beside him, mouth slightly agape as she looked at the previously covered wall.

It was covered, floor to ceiling, with paintings. Crude stick figures in orange jumpsuits, running, jumping, moving through unmistakable orange and blue portals. A cube painstakingly decorated with pink hearts. A sketch of a portal gun, slightly different from their own. Spherical robots like the one they’d seen earlier, and a huge, imposing robot depicted hanging upside down from a tangled mass of wires, with a single, bright yellow eye watching them coldly. Some letters and phrases—mostly gibberish—but one sentence in particular stood out to Adrien.

“DO NOT DESTROY VITAL TESTING APPARATUS.”

The only thing the watchful voice had said to them in this chamber.

Underneath, faintly, had been scrawled a single word:

“GLaDOS”

“It looks like a name,” he murmured out loud. Marinette looked where he was pointing and made a small noise of agreement.

“Who do you think wrote it?”

“No idea,” he admitted. He didn’t want to dwell on the coincidence too long. “We could call the voice by that, anyway. It’s better than nothing.”

Marinette agreed with him, and they lingered on the mural for only a bit longer. They sat around the room, drinking and eating what they could while they could, but soon they were both too restless to stay. They couldn’t get out of this place without moving forward, anyway. GLaDOS could wondering what was taking them so long, and that finally spurred them into action. They slipped a small can and a bottle of water each into the pockets of their uniforms, and left the den to rejoin the testing chamber.

The white light was harsh after the warm yellow of their safe-den, but Adrien did feel like he could breathe a bit easier, and his stomach no longer hurt with hunger. “Let’s get this done, then.”

Marinette picked up the cube she’d abandoned, and tried several times to throw it over the Emancipation Grill, but she couldn’t get it high enough to even come close to clear the top. Their portal guns just weren’t made for throwing. Eventually, they remembered what the portal guns were made for, and opened a ceiling portal on the other side of the room to move the cube. Adrien jumped through his portal after the cube just for the hell of it, while Marinette walked through the blue field normally and took care of getting the sphere.

Adrien placed his cube on the button, and the platform next to the bowl-button started to move, years of rust and dirt scraping away from the rail. Again, Adrien took the sphere and brought it to the sphere-shaped button, relieved to find a perfect fit. As soon as the sphere settled, the platform underneath the exit rose to provide a ledge. Marinette provided a portal on the ceiling above so they could jump down to the exit and complete the test.

As Adrien passed through the door and the second Emancipation Grill, he felt whatever adrenaline he’d coasted on through that test dissolve, as if the blue light had emancipated his will to continue. He sagged against the railing, suddenly worn out as if he hadn’t slept in ages.

Marinette, realizing he wasn’t following her, scrambled back up the stairs and grabbed him around the middle as if to hold him up. Reassured he wasn’t going to fall, her grip softened into a hug, and they stayed like that for a moment, not speaking.

“I think we should take a break,” Marinette said, breaking the silence.

Adrien nodded, and together they continued down the stairs, sitting down against the padded wall at the bottom. The floor was hard and cold, but Adrien’s eyes started to close the moment he touched down. He slipped off soon into an uneasy sleep, dreaming of a ragged, dark-haired man peering down at him and mumbling things he couldn’t quite hear.


	5. You did that on purpose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1866835541  
With the exception of the next chamber, I'm usually going to publish them as soon as they're complete, which is why this one was out early. Also, for the purposes of not having to rename all of my chambers, the first chapter of this fic is considered Chapter 0, so while this is technically chapter 5, the corresponding chamber is labelled SN_C004.

Marinette dragged herself from a restless sleep, shadows of tense dreams caught just behind her eyelids. She was still holding Adrien tight, but waking up in his arms was much less jarring the second time around. She didn’t want to disturb him, and so held still, listening to him mumble and snore softly.

They had found food and water during their last test, and soothed their aching stomachs. It felt like it had been days since either of them had ate or slept, and maybe it was. There was no way to tell time here. Something sharp in the air seemed to keep her awake and on edge, until they just couldn’t take it anymore.

True enough, though her eyes were still tightly shut, she couldn’t seem to get back to sleep. Even Adrien was starting to stir, letting out a groan and reaching up to rub at his face. He startled when he saw Marinette, something unreadable flashing in his eyes, but then he smiled, and the strange look was gone.

“Have a good sleep?” Marinette asked, quietly, as she let him go.

Adrien hesitated, rubbing at the hand where he usually wore his ring. “Yeah,” he said, finally. “You?”

She nodded. It was as good as they were going to get on the cold, dirty floor, anyway. She was suddenly very glad they’d had layers in the form of the jumpsuits.

The pair stood, stretched, and grabbed their portal guns.

It seemed to take forever and a day to reach their next test. Marinette was certain that the elevator stopped at some point, but the doors refused to open, no matter how much they pounded at the walls or shouted for some kind of help. Once it was clear they were trapped inside, Adrien became pale, and his breath came in short pants, which only stressed Marinette even further. She was beginning to pry at the crack where the doors normally opened when GLaDOS finally spoke up.

_“The Enrichment Center would like to apologize for the delay. There has been a complication with the scheduled test chamber, and so you are going to be relocated to a new testing tract until the problem is taken care of. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.”_

Marinette sighed with relief, and stepped back from the door as the elevator rumbled and sputtered back into life. Adrien still didn’t look like he’d recovered from his pallor, but his breathing steadied.

The ride was taking much longer than usual, but GLaDOS spoke to them all the while about the marvels of the facility she called home. Marinette leaned back against the padded wall and tried to rest her eyes, the faintly robotic voice jumbling with the noise of the elevator.

_“…a state of the art ventilation system, keeping the air fresh and breathable in the facility regardless of the quality of air on the surface.”_

At the mention of the surface, Marinette perked up from where she’d been dozing.

_ “As a bonus, the Enrichment Chamber provides our special brand of experimental adrenaline vapor to the airflow for our test chambers, keeping test subjects sharp and alert under even extreme conditions. _

_“We would like to congratulate the two of you for personally pioneering the research of this exciting new development.” _

Though Marinette wasn’t sure she liked the idea of strange chemicals in the air, the praise cut through the chilled air to warm her cheeks, and she couldn’t help the grin that split her face.

Adrien, however, seemed less than pleased. He kept his thoughts to himself behind a faint scowl, but before Marinette could ask what was troubling him, the elevator stumbled to a stop and the doors, mercifully, slid open without delay.

The replacement test chamber was oddly bare. There wasn’t an exit door as far as she could see, and besides a strip on the ceiling, the only white was splattered like paint against the floor and wall. A button sat on the other end on her left, and another on a ledge to her immediate right. At the very back of the wall, a strange beam pulsed into the only white spot on the ground, wide enough to fit them both side-by-side. A hole was cut high and deep into the wall on their right, where another room could just barely be seen.

“There’s no cube,” Adrien pointed out, frowning.

“There’s another room. We just have to find a way in.” If she could transform, she could have them both up there through the hole in no time flat. But she couldn’t, not now. Not without Tikki.

Marinette shook the thought from her head. More than being Ladybug, she missed Tikki so deeply that it hurt. If Adrien hadn’t been here to pressure her into keeping her identity hidden, she might have very well already panicked having woken up without her earrings, this time without so much as a note.

Determined to keep from thinking about it too hard, Marinette approached the strange beam and inspected it carefully. Not being able to see the exit was new, but this was new, too, and had to be part of the same puzzle. She had the sneaking suspicion that they might see something new in every test chamber and still not know the extent of this laboratory’s technology.

Instilled in her through generations of being human, the instinct to stick her hand in something she didn’t understand was overwhelmingly compelling. Marinette couldn’t help herself.

“Woah!”

Instantly, Adrien was by her side, portal gun brandished in a primitive way of defense.

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Look! Feel that!”

Adrien complied, lowering his device so he could touch the edge of the beam. His hand was instantly dragged down with the undulations of light. “Woah,” he agreed, pulling his hand back, only to stick his entire portal gun into the flow. He released it, and it floated gently to the floor.

Marinette looked from the white splatters on the ground beneath Adrien’s portal gun, to the splatter on the wall, and on a whim connected them with her portals. The beam flowed through the air and the hole in the wall, lighting up the adjacent room.

“Wait! Hey-“

Marinette erupted into giggles as Adrien’s portal gun floated serenely over her head, followed by a frantic hand flailing about through the portal, trying to grab it out of the air.

“No! Marinette, help!” The pull of the beam was evidently too strong to fight, as Adrien was pulled through the portal too, hanging upside-down in midair. Marinette covered her mouth to try to contain herself, but the indignant look on Adrien’s face as he tried to swim through the light to reach his device sent her over the edge again.

“You did that on purpose,” Adrien accused through her gleeful laughter, but she could see that he was trying to hold back a grin even as he promised to get her back.

Soon, he disappeared from sight, and Marinette heard a thump on the floor and the sound of a portal gun firing. The blue light of an unconnected portal lit the ceiling above her.

“What do you see?” She called out, pressing her ear against the wall between them.

“I found the exit!” He yelled back. “And…a cube.”

Just one cube? Marinette frowned. They had two buttons. “Anything else?”

“There’s a button here!”

A half beat of silence.

“I’m gonna press the button.”

Another moment, and something whirred faintly. An exaggerated ticking noise sounded throughout the room, almost covering the whisper of a splash and a laugh.

Marinette waited, but Adrien didn’t say anything. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when a something clunked behind her. It was Adrien, splattered with white paint and looking suspiciously pleased with himself.

“What’s that on your suit,” she asked, coming closer to inspect the fabric.

He moved quickly, tugging her close to stand beside him. Marinette could hardly register the smirk on his face before something splattered against the top of her head and turned her world white.

“Ah-!” She yelped, trying to wipe the gunk from her face and failing miserably, still trapped in her tormentor’s grip. It was Adrien’s turn to guffaw, and when she sputtered at him in rage he finally relented, sopping up paint with his sleeves as he chuckled.

“I told you I’d get you back,” he teased. “Sorry, princess.”

Marinette froze, and Adrien froze too. For once, it was his turn to stammer and stutter as he tried to explain himself, but Marinette hardly payed attention to any of it, shaking off the cold feeling in her gut. It made sense, really. She missed her silly kitty so much she was starting to hear his voice in the only company she had down here.

“Marinette? Are you okay?” The laughter in Adrien’s voice gave way to concern, and by way of answering Marinette playfully flung some of her paint at his face. Not that it made much difference; they were both soaked.

GLaDOS interrupted their fun with a warning._ “Fantastic! You seem to have discovered some of the properties of the Conversion Gel. However, practical jokes are not the intended use of Aperture Science testing equipment, so please refrain from using the gel as such in the future.”_

In the time it took for GLaDOS to finish, the gel had already started to dry on their clothes and hair. It wasn’t impossible to move around, but it wasn’t terribly comfortable. Marinette made the executive decision to strip off her jumpsuit then and there, and Adrien followed suit. They both shivered in the cool air of the testing chamber, down to their school clothes.

“Sorry,” Adrien said again. His mouth was downturned, but his eyes still twinkled.

Marinette gave him a wink, and her face burned as his lit up. She couldn’t believe she’d done that, but he didn’t seem to mind, which made her blush harder. She also couldn’t believe it’d taken her this long to get worked up about who, exactly, her partner in all of this was. She blamed the stress of the tests.

Right. The test. They still had to solve this one.

“Well, we know what that button does now,” Marinette said finally, scratching at the gel in her hair. Luckily, it came off easily. “We should probably try the other buttons, since we’ve found the cube.”

“Right!” Enthusiastically, Adrien rushed to the button opposite the tractor beam. He pressed it, and the blue light of the beam turned a harsh orange. The light waved in the opposite direction, and even without experimentation Marinette had an inkling as to what the change was. Adrien released the button, and the beam went back to normal.

As if she were using her Ladybug vision outside the suit, Marinette could suddenly see what needed to be done to reach the button above their heads.

“We need that cube,” she said, “and we need to press that gel button again.”

Adrien jumped back into the tractor beam without complaint, looking much more dignified this time around. Marinette waited until she heard the thump on the other side before issuing more instructions. “Send the cube over here. I need to get into position.”

At the affirmative from her friend, she jumped into the beam herself. It was strange in a good way, like floating along a current of water. Marinette could reach outside the beam without much trouble, but she couldn’t stop herself from moving. When she reached the hole in the wall, she quickly shot a portal into the ceiling, so that the tractor beam was redirected, and she could land gently on the edge of the wall. It was wide enough to move around, and from here she could see the entirety of both rooms. 

When the cube fell through Adrien’s portal in the ceiling, she waved to let him know. He waved back, bouncing on his feet impatiently next to the gel button, which was small and protruded from the ground to waist height.

Red portal on the ceiling, orange on the floor. The cube fell directly onto the first button, and the beam reliably turned orange. She fired a portal under the beam, and another under the contraption that dispensed the goo.

“Can I press the button now?” Adrien spoke up from below.

She nodded, and he did. The contraption opened with a whine, and large blobs of white gel were pulled into the other room by the beam. When they reached the top, they splattered, painting the wall opposite the final button white.

Marinette was ready to jump down to grab the cube, but the beam gave her an idea, and with a few well-placed portals, the cube was floating lazily by, deposited directly on the cube by the beam. Marinette heard the familiar grind of the exit door opening, and Adrien whooped as she jumped down with a clink and ran with him to the next test.

GLaDOS praised them extensively for making quick work of this chamber, and promised that the original chamber was back up and running perfectly, just for them. Marinette was just thinking about how much she wasn’t looking forward to another elevator ride when Adrien suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her underneath the stairs with him.

She was confused, but a damp, familiar smell lifted her already relaxed mood. A faint orange light from between two cracked panels gave way to another den, smaller than the first but still stocked high with boxes. Marinette silently thanked her lucky stars that at least one of them noticed.

“I saw the light,” Adrien breathed, running his hands through his hair excitedly and mussing it up. “There are more of these, maybe one for every single test. Wouldn’t that be cool?”

Marinette nodded mutely, taking in their surroundings. There was another radio, unbroken but silent. More paintings, but the largest and freshest was of a ragged, dark haired man dressed in a lab coat. He looked terrified, or maybe that was the haphazard way he was painted. His hand was raised, pointing to the corner of the room. Marinette’s eyes bugged out as she realized what he was pointing at. “Adrien!” She gasped. “Clothes!”

A pair of reasonably clean orange jumpsuits lay jumbled on the floor. They moved as one, each grabbing a set and pulling them on, sighing at the sudden warmth. Miraculously, the jumpsuits fit perfectly.

“Thank you, Mr. Scientist,” Adrien said to the painting, and Marinette giggled.

They rested then, going through the boxes for more food and water, taking turns to sleep until Marinette no longer felt the bite of exhaustion behind her eyes. The special vapor didn’t seem to reach inside these dens, thankfully.

When they were ready to head out, Marinette took one last look at the scientist on the wall. Though he was painted so carelessly, something in his face still gave her a feeling of contentment. She thanked him silently for watching out for them, whether he really was or not, then left the safety of their den, following behind her friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has been completely plotted out and the outline divided into three sections. I'm not sure how many chapters it'll take us to reach the end, but as of this chapter we are only a quarter of the way through the first section. I've got a lot planned for these kids.


	6. It's for the best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1879737887  
SN_C005 is up!

Adrien was starting to dread these elevators. They were just a bit too small, just slightly too rickety. The last one breaking down, trapping them inside, had just been the ants on the cake.

It felt strange to be taken up, rather than down, to whatever test chamber they had missed. Not that Adrien knew how a chamber could possibly have a complication. It sounded dangerous, and he wasn’t sure he wanted them to try to solve it, but it wasn’t like GLaDOS was giving them a choice.

GLaDOS. Every word out of her mouth was passively suspicious. Adrien was no stranger to being treated like a commodity, and this was starting to feel uncomfortably familiar.

His scowl must have shown on his face, because something tugged at his sleeve and he looked down to see Marinette, watching him with concern in her bright blue eyes.

His heart fluttered and the scowl slipped into a smile. “Sorry,” he said gently. “I just…don’t like the elevators.”

Marinette frowned, like she didn’t quite believe him, but she didn’t pry. “Me neither,” she admitted, looking away to the doors. “These feel so old. They can’t be safe.”

As if it were listening, their elevator groaned to a stop. For one terrifying moment, they were stuck there, but then the doors squeaked open to reveal a low hallway and a hazy red light.

Adrien took the lead this time, taking a lungful of the sharp air to try and clear his head of their musty ride. It was still stale, but less so, and now there was a new smell in the air, like burning plastic.

He hoped that wasn’t related to the _complication._

The chamber was spacious, with an impressively wide chasm, spanned by two rows of painfully red laser beams. On the other side was the exit, and a hallway leading to yet another room. Glass divided the space to their right, guarding a button sitting high on a ledge. To their left, a cube sat on a similar ledge, unprotected by any glass yet still out of reach. The only white panels where directly across from the lasers. The ground was dotted with flat, rectangular plates and pictures of sharp blue bulls-eye targets.

_ “This test makes use of the Aperture Science Aerial Faith Plate,”_ GLaDOS finally explained when neither of them made any move to begin. _“As well as the Thermal Discouragement Beam.”_

Adrien exchanged a look with Marinette, who mouthed the word _lasers._

_“Historically, the Aerial Faith Plate has been used to test the testing capacity of test subjects’ while tested. For this next chamber, a new element has been provided for extra motivation. Well, several elements, mostly helium, carbon dioxide, and xenon gas. You are strongly encouraged to avoid touching these._

_Good luck!”_

The room was silent again.

“She didn’t explain what the faith plates do, though,” Adrien finally pointed out.

Marinette shrugged. “We’ll just have to find out.” Her features scrunched in determination, she approached the closest plate. 

It was a dark gray, with an oval shape cut out of the top. A blue light, the same blue as the painted targets, pulsed gently in the middle. It didn’t react when Marinette poked at it with her portal gun, or her hand. Adrien’s eyes were just starting to wander when Marinette stepped on the blue light. A hiss and a crack, and the oval popped up on a hinge, sending Marinette flying through the air with a yelp.

More out of instinct than anything else, Adrien lunged forward to try to grab her. He wasn’t even close, but in his haste he, too, stumbled on to the plate.

_Hiss--crack._ He was flung into the air. The bottom dropped out of his stomach as he flew across the chasm, missing the huge red lasers by mere inches. The light buzzed and crackled above and below, and he automatically brought his knees up out of the way, pointing his feet at the fast-approaching ledge. He just had enough time to see Marinette scrambling out of the way before he landed with a clang on one of the blue bulls-eye targets.

Adrien stood there, stunned, like a cat doused with cold water. The shock wore off slowly, though, and soon he was gripped with the inexplicable urge to _do that again._ He looked over at Marinette as a grin split his face. She stared back, her smile mirroring his own.

“I’m going to check out this room,” she said, pointing her portal gun at the hole in the wall. “You should grab that cube.” The cube in question was high on a ledge, just opposite another of the faith plates.

Adrien didn’t need to be told twice. As Marinette walked a bit unsteadily down the hallway, he all but ran to the next aerial faith plate. He jumped on the plate and was, again, launched into the air. This time, the surprise didn’t dampen his elation of flying through space. He whooped as the wind whistled past his ears, shouted as his outstretched hand was singed by one of the lasers, laughed as he touched down upon the ledge with a practiced aim.

It was amazing, even more so than falling through portals. This felt like what he missed as Chat Noir, bounding over rooftops without a care in the world. Snapping the cube to the end of his portal gun, he jumped down from the ledge with ease and waited patiently for Marinette to return.

Soon she appeared from the hallway, looking thoughtful. Adrien waved his cube at her, and she waved back, just as enthusiastically. Pleased, Adrien sat comfortably against the wall and watched Marinette disappeared and reappear from the mysterious room, occasionally firing a portal out of sight. Once, she came back and shot a portal directly across from one of the lasers, and the hallway lit up in a hazy red. Marinette left to investigate just as quickly.

Some unintelligible noise came from the room, and Marinette poked her head around the corner to look at Adrien. “Don’t touch the lasers,” she called out, and Adrien sheepishly raised his hand, showing off his own burn, which had now turned an angry red. Marinette shook her head in exasperation, but she was smiling as she pulled back to continue working.

Adrien heard one more shot from Marinette’s portal gun before something creaked and groaned in the floor below him. Not five feet away, a set of stairs sprung to life from the unassuming brown tiles, leading to the area separated by glass, and to the faith plate aimed at the currently closed exit.

A moment later, Marinette stumbled out of her free fall to join him. “There’s a device back there that reacts to the lasers,” she explained. “I guess it’s like a button for these stairs.”

“Nice work,” Adrien said appreciatively, and Marinette blushed. Together, they climbed the stairs, comparing their burns and chatting about all the new technology they’d seen.

“I don’t think I’ll get used to those aerial faith plates,” Marinette groaned with a shudder. “They’re fun, but I’m so clumsy I’m afraid I’ll just – splat, right on my face, or step on one accidentally. At least with the portals I can control where I land.”

“I love them,” Adrien admitted, closing his eyes with a sigh. “Flying through the air—I feel so free.”

Marinette hummed in agreement. “You probably don’t get much of a chance for freedom,” she noted quietly.

His eyes still closed, Adrien laughed. “No,” he admitted. “But this feels just like running across rooftops, and that's enough freedom for me--”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Adrien realized that was the wrong thing to say. A deafening silence crashed against his head as they both stopped walking. He cracked his eyes open and saw his friend staring at him, mouth agape.

“Marinette—Princess, wait, please, let me explain—” He stumbled over his words, panic clawing at his chest. He couldn’t believe, after years of being so careful, he’d just let his identity go like that.

Ladybug was going to be so disappointed in him, Adrien just knew it. He dreaded that conversation. “It’s not what it sounds like, well, it is, but I’m really—"

She took a step back.

Ah, _hell._

“Please don’t tell Ladybug,” he finished lamely.

Marinette held her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. Adrien thought he could see the glimmer of tears in her eyes, and his heart sunk even lower. His knees were suddenly weak, and he sank to the floor, sitting on the steps with his head in his hands. His portal gun lay forgotten by his feet.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, to no one in particular.

Wordlessly, Marinette approached him. She hesitated, then set her portal gun next to his, and sat down by his side. They were there for what seemed like an eternity, neither able to meet the other’s eyes.

Finally, Adrien felt thin, strong arms wrap around his shoulders, and soft, sweet smelling hair buried against his neck. “You silly cat,” Marinette murmured. “It’s okay.”

He didn’t respond, but reached up to grasp one of her hands, gently stroking the soft skin of her fingers. They stayed like that, again, unable to move or speak.

“I’m just scared,” he said finally. “You know my identity now, and it could put you in danger, and if anything happened to you because of me—”_ I wouldn’t forgive myself,_ he knew, but couldn’t say out loud. He didn’t even want to think about that, or what Ladybug would say once she found out.

“That…won’t be a problem.”

“But what if it is? What if—”

“No, Adrien,” she interrupted. “Chat Noir. Listen to me. I wish you hadn’t done that, but there’s no taking it back now. And, maybe…it’s for the best, if we want to get out of here.”

Adrien could only blink in confusion. He reluctantly detached himself from Marinette’s grip so he could look her in the eyes. Her face was still streaked with tears, but her gaze was determined and calculating.

“We’re going to have to trust each other,” she decided, “and I do. I trust you completely, but you’re going to have to trust me right now, too.”

“What are you saying?” Adrien didn’t understand, though something scratched at the back of his mind, like he was missing a piece of the puzzle.

“My kitten,” Marinette said gently, bringing his hand up with both of hers. “It’s me. I’m Ladybug.”

_What?_

He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. He didn’t not want to believe it.

He absolutely wanted to believe it.

He could only stare, dumbstruck, as his mind fervently latched on to every detail that could prove this was real. Her hair, her eyes, her smile all belonged to his incredible Ladybug, all belonged to his sweet classmate.

Marinette watched his eyes, a nervous smile ghosting her lips. “Adrien?” Her voice was soft, and he knew.

Unable to say a word, Adrien reached for her, arms outstretched. Mercifully, she understood, and she melted into his arms. They held each other close, eyes shut tightly.

“I can’t believe I didn’t notice,” Adrien croaked, his throat scratchy with emotion.

“It’s not your fault,” Marinette assured him. “I had no idea who you were either, and I’ve had a crush on you for years—”

“Wait, really?”

Marinette eeped, and her face grew warm against his chest.

His lady loved him. It really was the luckiest day of his life. Adrien squeezed her tighter, a laugh bubbling up in his throat.

She laughed, too, and his heart swelled to hear it. They sat and laughed there, together, and for a small, sweet moment they were completely alone. No GLaDOS, no tests, no danger. Adrien hoped it would last forever.

Of course, it couldn’t. The thick, burnt air of their test chamber stung the joyful tears in his eyes, and he sniffed, rubbing at them with his shoulder. Marinette sniffed too,

drew a shaky breath,

and broke down into a sob.

The sound ripped a sob from Adrien, next, and he broke down too. They held each other, again, crying desperately. Adrien cried for them, for their friends, for his kwami. He cried for every akuma that came a little too close to tearing them apart, for every time he’d failed as Chat Noir, as Aspik. He cried for an untold time of imprisonment in this damned place, for every time he’d worried and stressed about being trapped in here, forever. He cried for Marinette, who seemed so small in his arms as she sobbed against his shoulder. He cried for himself, until he found that he simply had no tears left.

As the two of them calmed down, he realized that he was too tired to be embarrassed over crying his heart out on his crush’s shoulder, and Marinette had already seen him at his worst. This was nothing.

“Are you okay?” He asked, when her breathing had evened out.

Marinette laughed weakly. “Yeah, I’m fine, sorry. I’ve just been stressed, and then this whole bombshell dropped, and I just…” She trailed off with a shrug.

“No, I understand. It’s been kind of a ride.” He rested his chin on her head, content to just hold her there until the end of time. The beginnings of a purr, something he hadn’t heard in quite a long time, rumbled in his chest, startling them both.

He caught a glimpse of Marinette’s smirk as she settled back against him. “What?”

“Nothing,” she said, and Adrien could just faintly hear a sigh. “I’m just glad you’re my partner.”

The purr intensified. “Me too,” he mumbled into her hair. Then, he smiled, a bit devilishly. “Now, about that crush?”

“Later.”

“Hmm?”

“We’ll talk about it later.”

“Promise?”

“…Of course, kitty. I’m just not up to it right now.”

“Hmm.”

A brief moment of silence.

“What about our miraculous?”

Marinette seemed surprised, and then a bit sad. “What about them?”

“Do you have any idea where they went?”

“I don’t.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“But what if it is?”

“It’s not.”

More silence.

“I miss Tikki.”

“I miss Plagg.”

“I miss Plagg too.”

“You’ve met Plagg?”

“Of course. You’ve met Tikki, too, remember?.”

“Ah, right.”

They settled back, then, for as long as they could stand the smell of the lasers, and the whiff of gasoline from the stairs. Absentmindedly, Adrien thought about the last time he’d had a shower. He was sure he didn’t smell all that great, either, but thankfully Marinette didn’t seem to mind.

Finally, they got back up, and into the test. Adrien retrieved his portal gun and his cube, and Marinette directed him through the process of getting it to the button. This time, when he used the faith plate, instead of a blue target, he found his destination to be a wide splatter of blue gel. His boots touched blue, and he was launched back into the air with an absolutely delightful noise, much like a trampoline, landing right next to the button.

Marinette was waiting for him as he bounced his way back to the now open exit, something soft in her eyes as she watched him fly. He landed by her side, his heart light and his spirits high, and when he looked longingly back at the finished chamber, she laughed and gave him a nudge with her portal gun.

“Go have some fun,” she said, and plopped herself down against the wall. “I’ll be right here.”

Adrien’s eyes gleamed, and he took a small bow as he bent to brush a kiss against her forehead, eliciting a giggle.

“I’ll come back to you, my lady.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the dear reader who asked me about the identity reveal, I hope this was everything you hoped and dreamed for!  
Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long as this one did, oops.


End file.
